Another Silverstone Fortress Build

[Diggsy]

Well, I have finally got my case almost 100% finshed(just need to fit the X-Fi and the 4 port USB backplate which are both still in this system i'm typing on). My decision to buy the Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W was largely due to rjkoneill's awesome build log on here, so thanks to you for that.

Anyway, I got the case and spent the next couple of weeks trying to get the right parts, and those I couldn't get just right, I made myself.

First off I bought a Silverstone hard disk caddy with a vented front, that looked superb, but it was designed for the Kublai cases, and alas I couldn't get it to work at all.

So then I decided to use a Kama Bay with the front off the Silverstone. Looked good, but not just right. So, off with the grille on the Kama and I picked up some wire mesh similar to the standard mesh on the Fortress from a local DIY store. Some matt black spray and a little shaping later, and hey presto, so much better looking!

Oh, and I just couldn't let go of the floppy drive! I had to have one installed. Now I know everyone says they're of no use anymore, but I am just so used to having one for bios flashes etc. Anyway, there was no room externally for one unless I got a USB drive. USB? No way, that defeats the point of a floppy drive!!

So, after a little head-scratching it hit me - I had a spare HDD slot. Hmmm, HDD - 3.25", floppy drive - 3.25". A little bit of modding later and I had the drive (nice new Sony one) installed internally. I figure that it's used so little, it's the ideal compromise.

So here's the parts list...

Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W
Modified Kama Bay
Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus
Zalman ZM850-HP
Abit IP35 Pro
Intel Q6600 G0 with TRUE
2 x 2gb G-Skill PC8000
Evga GTX260 SSC 55nm
X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-E
Samsung F1 500gb
Pioneer 216DBK
Sony Floppy Drive
Lian-Li BS-08B
3 x 120mm Noctua NF-P12 Vortex
1 x 60mm from a stock AMD HS
2 x 40mm Rasurbo Basic Silent
3 x Black SATA II cables

...and loads of cable braid and heatshrink, cable ties and some tie-downs too.


I have found it an excellent case to work in, with bags of room and tons of cable tidying options. Inside it is like a fridge, quite literally. I have never felt so much movement of cold air in any case I have used before. The 2 180mm fans really do move a lot of air, and with very little noise (although their motors do rattle a little bit).

In testing I have had my CPU Priming Small FFT's at 3.6ghz in the closed case with every fan bar the 2 180mm(no point lowering these really as they only run at 700RPM) and CPU at less than half speed.

Room temps were 23c and after an hour my CPU settled at 69,69,65,65(these were always within 1-2c before it went in the case, so I think the lower numbers are those nearest the upper 180mm fan), with PWM's maxing out at 68c and system temp showing 31c.

Given the fan speeds used and overall noise levels, which were very, very quiet(and I am a fussy beggar about noise), the temps acheived are astounding.

If I had to bad comments it would be that the gap behind the motherboard could do with being a little bit deeper. Getting all the cabling tidy, then closing the door was not easy, especially with the pre-fitted foam in place! But it just needed some gentle encouragement and I got it to close.

I can also hear quite a lot of rumbling from my hard disk during heavy access. Not sure if it's something to do with the case transferring the noises, or just that I have been unlucky and got a Samsung that is a little noisy. I might just try it outside the case to see.

Anyway, enough rambling, here's the pics(lots!!) Oh and I didn't take any of the case on it's own, or the box, but then they're not that interesting really...

Front of case with Kama Mk1...

And with Kama Mk2(the final version)...

Closer look...

And closer still...

The Lian-Li BS-08B(which I might remove, or replace the fans as now that it's in, i'm not sure it's much use as the fans seem to be doing nothing)...

Some work on the cables...

More cable work, this used to be a flat floppy cable. I have shortened it and rounded it. Took a while, but worth it...

And some work on the switch cabling...

Switch cables back in...

Little tie-downs for the cables...

 

[Diggsy]

A view into the rear of the 5.25" bays...

Another view from inside. Gives a better idea of the size of that lower fan!...

On with the install and cable organising...

And the whole mess togther...

 

[Diggsy]

Build continues, the messy corner of the PSU...

The floppy drive in it's new home...

The TRUE in place with a lovely Noctua NF-P12...

Lovely G-Skill RAM, and that'll be the Northbridge cooling sorted...

 

[Diggsy]

Now, with the Northbridge sorted, what about the PWMs, and what on earth have I done with this fan? Read on....

That little 'bracket' I devised fits snugly into the bottom set of fins on the TRUE, holding the 60mm fan in perfect position to cool the PWMs...

 

[Diggsy]

Looking along the GTX, not much room with the BS-08B there too...

A little close-up...

From above...

View from the front...

All coming together nicely...

 

[Diggsy]

And here we go, the *almost* finished article...

Well, that's about it I think. Just need to get the X-Fi and 4 port USB backplate it now. Oh and the backup drive too, one of my 250gb Spinpoints.

Hope you like the build, it's taken a lot longer than I expected, but that's mainly down to lazyness on my part, and a lot of trial and error with parts and cabling. I think it was worth it though. If anyone wants/needs to see any more pics, just shout.

 

[Diggsy]

YEAH!!!!


About time dude!

looking really good! - love what you did to the kama panel
looking at my lian li bay with shame now!!!

Thanks! Glad you like it. Not sure how durable it will be as I sprayed it myself, but it should be fine.

 

[Diggsy]

Thanks a lot for the comments guys. I'll try to answer your questions...

@ hp7909 - thanks for that tip, I am going to look into that little tool, but it's just reassuring to know that I still have a floppy disk in there.

@ p4radox - The small fans, believe it or not made a BIG difference to temps. The PWMs were running at 81c and climbing until I fitted the fans. With just the 60mm over the PWMs, they dropped to 71c, and with the addition of the 40mm fans on the NB, PWM temps dropped again to 68c. I have them all running at less than half their rated speed, and whilst I can't really hear them, they are doing a great job.

@ LukeTW - I have no idea if it's making any difference or not, as I installed it from the start of the build. I am considering removing it though, as the fans are barely turning. I think that's probably partly to do with my wiring though, as I needed 2 extension cables to get it to my fan controller. I might bypass the controller 1st and see what happens.

Whether you have it as an intake or exhaust will depend on your setup. What I noticed is that my PSU below gives out very little heat, so the BS-08B should be able to draw in relatively cool air from outside and blow it onto the GTX, which IMHO is better than it competing against the GTX for airflow. If it sat higher than the GTX in the case, then I would say exhaust every time, but with it sitting below I can't help but think it is better suited as an intake. The problem I have with it though, as I said is it seems to be putting out very little air. Time to bypass the fan controller and see what happens before I ditch it.

@ mr x plosion - nope

 

[Diggsy]

@ N16h7m4r3 - Thanks, and yep, that tray is hiding a lot of mess!!

@ reflux - Thanks, I think the red plate looks great too mate. It's a 260 btw.

 

[Diggsy]

A little bit of an update. The HDD noise was really starting to bug me, and I haven't even started to use the system as my main one yet!

So I decided to attempt to bungee the drive and see what would happen. There is just enough room to bungee it, yet keep it in the proper enclosure, which is perfect. The difference in seek noise is just unbelievable!

So, I have it bodged in for now with white elastic, but I am currently looking at either getting good quality black elastic, or I have some old black blocks of foam lying around which I might be able to use to hold the drive in.

Will update with some new pics once I have this sorted.

 

[Diggsy]

Simply stunning I can only imagine something like that must have taken u the entire day of just cable tieing and managing alone !

Even after ive spent a whole day and night managing and hiding my wires I could never get it ever as neat/tidy as you have done !

Thanks. I actually built it over a couple of weeks, making some slight changes and carefully planning the cabling as I went. It's still not finished just yet as I have to finish the HDD's, but it was well worth the time and effort spent. It's by far and away the best build I have done yet.

I am also considering removing the Lian Li BS08-B as it doesn't seem to make any difference to GFX temps. Probably as much to do with the excellent airflow in the case already to be fair though. I might give it one last go with a more powerful fan before removing it though just to see if it helps any.

Look out for some updates over the next week or so and with any luck fully finished pics too.

 

[Diggsy]

Thanks guys, glad to hear my time spent cabling is inspiring others to do likewise!

It really is a great case for cable management. Yes the rear of the motherboard could be deeper, but nothing a little gentle persuasion can't fix

 

[Diggsy]

A few changes incoming. Finally got around to returning my Zalman PSU for RMA. That was dealt with very quickly I have to say.

Also I got fed up with the noise from my Samsung F1, so it's now wrapped up in a GUP Smart Drive 2002C.

All the HDD bays have been removed and the floppy drive relocated.

I will soon have a X-Fi Fatal1ty to go in as well.

Pics to follow once it's all sorted, but who knows when that will be, especially given that it's now almost June and I still haven't transferred my system across to the new rig. What a complete waste of cash that was! I could've got so much more for my money had I waited, but ah well.

 

[Diggsy]

Thanks a lot guys.

To answer some of the questions, the cable braid I used was purchased off the bay. The shop specialises in heatshrink and the quality was very good.

Regarding the PCI cooler, yes it made little to no difference, so it now sits gathering dust just like a lot of other trial and error purchases I have made over the years

 

[Diggsy]

Well, I have finally got the X-Fi Fatal1ty installed. Got some of the Akasa SATA cables too. They look much better quality than the cheap black cables I was using previously. Yes they are silver, but you can barely see any of the cable anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I may also give the 120mm below the 5.25" bays a go (ala magicroundabout).

I have still not ported everything across from my old system though, so the Fortress still sits unused in the middle of the room. I am so lazy at the mo

Will post some updated pics soon.

 

[Diggsy]

Okay pics as promised...

Floppy Drive repositioned...

Installation method I had to cut a little square out of the rear in order for it to sit flush at the front...

X-Fi installed...

F1 wrapped up in the GUP Smart Drive...

That is just about it all finished. I was going to install another internal HDD, but could'nt locate another GUP Smart Drive at the right price, so changed plans and have decided on a 2nd external drive, this time through eSATA.

 

[Diggsy]

Thanks mate. To be fair, the only reason I removed the cage was to make room for the Smart Drive. And as a result, I had no choice but to rehouse the Floppy Drive. Worked out okay though, and I am sure the GTX260 benefits from the extra airflow.

 

[Diggsy]

Realised I had a spare NF-P12 lying around, so I decided to add it in along with a Sharkoon Rebel 9 Fan Frame that I painted satin black.

I know I probably didn't really need another fan, but it was lying doing nothing and I had a spare header on the fan controller so I just thought, what the heck, it can't do any harm ...

Line of Noctua goodness (although you can't see the one right at the front behind the Kama)...

 

[Diggsy]

First of all, awesome build! It looks really great.



How do you mean you couldn't get it to work? Was it this thing? http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=cfp51

I'm planning on getting this case soon and wanted the extra cooling as the bottom air flow will be fairly restricted with quite a few hd's.

Thanks for the comments.

I *think* the one you linked to should be fine. Unfortunately I tried to be smart and bought one designed solely for the Kublai cases ( http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=CFP52B&area= ), not realising they have a different mounting mechanism altogether.

I could have made it fit, but then it was going to be protruding far too much into the motherboard area for my liking.

The one you linked AFAIK sits out a little from the front of the case, so shouldn't suffer that issue.

Hope that helps.

 

[Diggsy]

has it made any difference to cpu temps?

i imagine it helps pump more air into the cpu as mine helps put more air into the gpu's. With the weather cooler than it was when i first installed it. The gpu's now idle at 47º & 45º

To be perfectly honest I am not sure. If anything, maybe a degree or 2, but hey it was lying doing nothing, and it can't be making it any worse

Also, I run my fans so so slow, that any difference made would be pretty small. These things are very quiet to start, but I reduce them to around 800RPM or so to suit my taste.